Tag: Mistakes

Mistakes, Learning, and Leadership in Lean

Mistakes are inevitable—but how leaders and organizations respond to them determines whether they improve or repeat the same failures. These posts explore mistakes through a Lean lens: system design vs. “human error,” psychological safety, learning cultures, and leadership behaviors that turn errors into improvement rather than blame.

Drawing from healthcare, manufacturing, aviation, sports, and everyday work, this archive focuses less on who failed—and more on what the system made possible.

Mistakes are inevitable; learning is not. These posts align with ideas I expanded on in The Mistakes That Make Us, which examines how leaders, cultures, and systems determine whether errors become liabilities—or catalysts for improvement.

The Mistake-Smart Leader’s Checklist: 6 Behaviors to Build Trust, Safety, and...

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We all say mistakes are a part of learning. Or at least many of us do, as individuals. But how many organizations actually act that...

What Aviation Teaches Leaders About Mistakes, Humility, and Psychological Safety

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TL;DR: Aviation's safety culture is built on humility: pilots expect mistakes, admit them quickly, and learn without blame. Leaders in any industry can create...

Blame vs. Accountability: What Leadership Actually Looks Like

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tl;dr: Blame-based leadership creates fear, silences learning, and erodes trust. Great leaders replace blame with shared accountability, psychological safety, and system-focused improvement. I recently witnessed...

My Upcoming Webinar on Mistake-Proofing Across Industries

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I'm excited to be presenting this webinar on February 12th at 1 pm ET as part of the KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar series: Mistake-Proofing in...

Why Blame Fails–and How Learning Cultures Turn Mistakes Into Improvement

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TL;DR: Blame shuts down learning and drives mistakes underground. High-performing organizations move beyond "who's at fault" and focus on understanding systems, building psychological safety,...

Wisdom from a Fortune Cookie: Succeeding via Obstacles and Failures

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Sometimes, wisdom comes wrapped in unexpected packaging--like a fortune cookie. Recently, my friend Alan Wikler, Psy.D., came across one with a simple yet profound...

Facilitating Learning While Learning Myself: Mistakes, Music, and Moving Forward

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Yesterday morning, I drove to a local client to facilitate a lunch-and-learn workshop featuring the Deming "Red Bead Game" and "Process Behavior Charts." Read...

Lost My iPhone in Tokyo–And Gained a Lesson in Kindness and...

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I'm thrilled to be back in Japan for the first time in five years. Today is the start of Katie Anderson's Japan Study Trip...

Why Labeling Mistakes as ‘Stupid’ Is the Real Mistake: Turning Errors...

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When discussing mistakes, it's common to hear terms like "stupid mistake" or "dumb mistake" thrown around, especially when reflecting on our own errors. However,...

Leadership Failure: How Refusing to Be Wrong Hurts Teams and Innovation

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"I am never, ever wrong." That's a statement that should disqualify an applicant from ANY leadership position. True leadership isn't about projecting infallibility--it's about fostering a...

We’ve Stopped Punishing People for Mistakes. Now What?

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In many organizations, moving away from a culture of punishment when mistakes are made is a significant leap forward. It signals a shift toward...

Learning from Mistakes in Healthcare: Lean Leadership Lessons from Lean Hospitals...

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Learning from mistakes is not optional in healthcare--it's essential for patient safety, staff engagement, and long-term performance. For years, I've written and spoken about...
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